Object Details
- Local Numbers
- FSA A.4 2.12.GN.23.07
- General
- Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
- Creator
- Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
- Names
- Islamic Archives
- Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
- Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970
- Collection Creator
- Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970
- Place
- Asia
- Iran
- Tehran (Iran)
- Topic
- Early Photography of Iran
- Military
- Topic
- Architecture
- Creator
- Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
- See more items in
- Myron Bement Smith Collection
- Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.12: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs / 2.12.01: Glass Plate Negatives / Glass Plate Negatives: Sets 1-61
- Biographical / Historical
- Antoin Sevruguin is one of the early pioneers of commercial photography in Iran. He arrived in Iran from Tbilisi, Georgia in the mid 1870s to set up shop in Ala al-Dawla street in Tehran. From the early days, Sevruguin's studio was trusted both by the Qajar court and by foreign visitors to Iran. Highly regarded for their artistic ingenuity outside Iran, Sevruguin's photographs of 'ethnic types,' architecture and landscape, and depictions of daily life of Tehran found their way into foreign travelogues, magazines and books. As such, he stands alone in a relatively large group of early Iranian photographers for being recognized and celebrated outside the boundaries of the country. Antoin Sevruguin passed away in 1933, leaving behind only a fraction of his large collection of glass negatives, which is currently in the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
- Extent
- 1 Glass negative (b&w, 18 cm. x 13.4 cm.)
- Date
- 1880-1920
- Archival Repository
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
- Identifier
- FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.4 2.12.GN.23.07
- Type
- Archival materials
- Glass negatives
- Collection Citation
- The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
- Arrangement
- According to Myron B. Smith handwritten document (Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran), Antoin Sevruguin's 696 glass negatives, at the time of their acquisition, were arranged into 61 boxes without any apparent organization. Today they are housed in archival document boxes, essentially duplicating the original arrangement, and stored on shelves. This glass negative was included into "Box 23."
- Collection Rights
- Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
- Bibliography
- Yahya Zoka and Mohammad Hassan Semsar, Tehran Dar Tasvir, Tehran: Sazman-i Miras-i Farhangi-i Kishvar, 1997, Vol. 2, p:69-89
- Genre/Form
- Glass negatives
- Scope and Contents
- "The new Canons' square and the two storey buildings surrounding it was built between 1867 and 1877 on the north side of the old Canons' square or Maydan-i Arg. The two storey building surrounding the square was initially planned as a reservoir of military equipment and a meeting and living place of military officials. A large and shallow pool, surrounded by trees and greenery and a railing around thethe pool area were constructed in the middle of the square. Adjacent to the railing, the canons of the military surrounded the central pool. The image shows the entrance gate to the square. This Dawlat gate connected the two main squares or Maydan of the city to each other: Maydan-i Tupkhana and Maydan-i Arg. It was built in 1871 along with the construction of the Almasiyya street by Mohammad Rahim Khan 'Ala al-Dawla (Amir Nizam). The size of the gate made it the earliest attempt at such large scale -inner-city-constructions of its time. The photograph was taken from inside the Tupkhana square." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- - FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo manipulation and condition reads, "The sky is completely covered in red ink. This line on the sides and the edges are cut off and very rough."
- - Handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "921."
- - Scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "19."
- - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 23.7: Gulestan Palace, Tehran." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]
- Collection Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1585218933221-1585218933891-1
